Budget Cooking Made Delicious

Are you looking for places to tighten your budget? Well, look no further than budget cooking! Your food bill is a good place to save money and learning how to cook is a great way to trim the food bill. When you learn the basics of cooking method, you waste less food, you prepare better food at home and you can buy in bulk, which is another cost-saving measure. It's simple to master these cooking techniques that will save you money - with just some knowledge, study and a little practice. Here are just a few ideas to get you started.

Bulk Up

Budget cooking requires a bit of pre-planning, but actually saves time (in addition to money) in the long run. When you know how to quickly portion meats, you can buy these meats in large quantities when they're on sale and freeze the portions for later use. This saves money because you are paying less per pound for a larger qantity of meat - a win/win. And because you've prepared the portions ahead of time, for as many meals as you have portions - you will be saving time on each and every meal preparation - now that's a REAL win/win.

Be Happy at Home

Many believe there is no finer gift to give than preparing somebody a wonderful meal that you cooked yourself. And even a fine meal can still be considered budget cooking. The reason is because in comparison to eating at a restaurant, you are able to enjoy the finest of everything at home (usually) for a much smaller price than a restaurant. You can buy the best ingredients and prepare them in any way that you desire - just the right amount. All of this is possible with some basic cooking methods, creativity and practice. So, instead of buying that restaurant gift certificate - consider instead giving somebody a book, video or advice on cooking. You will be buying them many wonderful meals - rather than just one.

Tough Love with the Tenderloin

When the warm weather comes, everyone likes to break out the BBQ grill. And many of those faithful grillers are longing for one thing - a perfectly cooked steak - maybe even the filet mignon! So how can you stop dreaming about this beauty and make it a reality without breaking the bank? A great simple solution for saving money on filet mignon is to purchase the entire beef tenderloin and break it down yourself. You remove the chain (the fatty muscle along the side), the head and the tail and then cut equally portioned steaks from there. I've paid as little as $40 and gotten 9 beautiful 3.5 oz steaks! Watch for sales and be willing to do a little work yourself - and this steak dream can be your reality, too.

A Portioning Plan

There are several times in the budget cooking process when portioning can play a crucial role. The first is in the purchasing of ingredients. If you are buying ingredients for specific meals, consider how many you'll be serving. This is especially true with regard to perishable items that cannot be frozen and preserved for later use. If you are storing your purchased ingredients for later use, as with meats, it is helpful to portion prior to freezing. This allows easy access to portion sizes in the future, and helps you avoid the temptation of cooking more than you really need when the time comes. And that is the third time to watch portioning - in cooking. Don't cook too much. Your tendency will always be to over-produce so err on the side of less food. This will lead to correct portioning during serving as well. The main thing is to have a plan for portioning and be aware of the pitfalls that come with over-portioning.

With a little planning, budget cooking can be easy and efficient, while also providing you delicious meals and rewarding entertaining experiences.

Chef Todd Mohr is a classically trained chef, entrepreneur, educator and host of the "Cooking Coarse" video series. For more details on Cooking by Method and how you can cook better everyday at home, visit Chef Todd’s website: I Hate Cooking Videos.com where you can view over 160 free cooking videos and get the Free monthly e-zine "Burn Your Recipes."